Spark your heart and mind through meditation
The Seattle Shambhala Meditation Center is a vibrant community with a warm approach to the study and practice of meditation. We provide instruction in mindfulness-awareness meditation for beginners and for experienced practitioners, a diverse variety of evening and weekend programs and group meditation sessions. For a listing of all sittings, programs and events check out the monthly calendar. We offer tools to help discover greater compassion, confidence, wisdom and joy in our day-to-day life.The Shambhala teachings offer a way to extend our personal transformation for the benefit of society as a whole. We discover the wisdom, sanity and goodness within our seemingly complex and chaotic minds, and the inherent goodness in the world around us.Our Center is located in the Madison valley neighborhood of Seattle. We also offer programs in West Seattle, Mercer Island, Edmonds, Tacoma, and Bainbridge Island. For latest community news and events, take a look at our blog.You are warmly invited to join us!
Getting Started:
There are many ways to get acquainted with Shambhala Buddhism and the people at the Seattle Center. Join us for an Open House with meditation instruction, a dharma talk and social time on Thursday evenings or Sunday mornings. More →
Volunteer
From hosting open houses to helping to staff programs to gardening, there is a range of volunteering options available. It’s a great way to meet people and support our community, which is majority volunteer run. We are full of gratitude for our many volunteers! For more information on our current volunteer needs Click here →
What is Shambhala?
Shambhala is an international community of urban meditation and rural retreat centers founded by the Vidyadhara Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche. Learn about our vision, lineage & community.
Pema Chodron
Pema Chödrön is one of the most prominent Buddhist teachers in the West. She is widely known for her charming and down-to-earth teachings. She is an ordained nun, author, and senior teacher (achraya) in Shambhala. More →
Membership
The Seattle Shambhala Meditation Center is a member supported organization. Membership is a way to express appreciation for what Shambhala provides and help make it available to others. Learn more about getting involved.
Resources for Helping Our Sangha Understand Current Events in Shambhala
This is a resource for our community and friends to understand the current situation in Shambhala. This list is not meant to be exhaustive and as new resources become available we will add them to this page. Please check back over the coming months as matters proceed. We do this with broken hearts as we hold our sangha in kindness. More →
Latest News from the Seattle Blog
Seattle Shambhala Shows Sneak Preview of “The Boys Who Said ‘NO!'”
August 7, 2019Bill Prince, former sangha member and film producer, joins the Seattle Shambhala Center for a sneak preview showing Saturday, September 21 at 7:00 pm, of a nearly-completed antiwar documentary titled The Boys Who Said NO! In the 1960s, one group of young people found their ideals of patriotism shaken by the Vietnam War. Inspired … Continue
Volunteers Hold the Shambhala Sky
August 5, 2019by Andrea D’Asaro “Our center is run by volunteers who give of their time. If they weren’t here the center wouldn’t exist,” says Susie Saalwaechter, explaining why she volunteers as a Sunday open house host every other month. Many members and visitors don’t realize that our precious center is run by over 70 inspired volunteers. … Continue
Experiencing “Kyudo: The Way of the Bow”
Photos by Brad Warren On July 20th and 21st, students gathered to learn one of the oldest arts of the Japanese tradition of contemplative warriorship, Kyudo. Brad Warren shares his experience of the weekend through photos. One is not polishing one’s shooting style or technique, but the mind. The dignity of shooting is the … Continue
